Eurasia

While Russia’s preferred candidates lost in last week’s vote for interim leadership in Libya, Moscow still has a strategy for reinforcing its influence in the country.

Away from the Gulf, Morocco and Sudan have also normalized relations with Israel. Oman is satisfied with its current relationship with Israel, the foreign minister said on Thursday, even after two fellow Gulf Arab states normalized ties with Israel and raised US hopes others would follow suit.

The report noted that the assassination was carried out using a “one-ton remote-controlled gun” that was smuggled into the country in pieces. Iran’s top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated with a “one-ton remote-controlled gun” that was smuggled into the country by the Mossad, The Jewish Chronicle reported on Wednesday.

Why did someone pitch the Jewish Chronicle now? Ever since Iran’s military nuclear program chief Mohsen Fakhrizadeh met his end in a daring assassination and hail of bullets on November 27, the world has been wondering how, exactly, it happened.

Some see this move as a sign that the IDF wants an experienced, well-informed officer heading the Intelligence Directorate. In what might be a signal toward Iran, Maj.-Gen. Aharon Haliva was appointed on Thursday to be the next head of IDF Intelligence.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Sunday arrested two suspected members of the so-called Islamic State who were allegedly planning an attack in the rural Deir al-Zor province.

A car bomb exploded leaving at least five people dead and more than 25 injured in Northern Aleppo, Syria’s al-Watan newspaper reported on Sunday.

Strengthened Iraq-GCC relations could bolster stability in the country and lessen Baghdad’s dependence on Iran. Iraqi sovereignty and the war against extremism are fights the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is committed to winning, according to a top GCC official on Monday.

Lebanon’s army said on Monday it had arrested 18 people, some Lebanese and others Syrian, with links to Islamic State.

Israeli army, meanwhile, says drone fell in Lebanese territory during operational activity along the Blue Line. Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement has said it shot down an Israeli drone that flew over the United Nations-demarcated Blue Line border.